Album of the Week – 1/12/23

A wise man once said ‘Never release an album in December’! Yes, while the rest of the music world is looking back at the best of the year, we’re looking ahead at what’s just been released this week! The truth is, not very much but there are a couple worthy of your attention.

That includes a band named after an Irish Lager (not really). Yes, Midlake’s Tim Smith and his wife Kathi Zung have just released an album as a band called Harp. The album itself is called Albion.

Album of the Week — Harp – Albion

“It’s said this album was influenced by the 1980s but there’s not much sign of it here, except maybe the guitar on the excellent penultimate track Throne of Amber, which sounds like early Cure through a softrock filter. But for the most part, Tim Smith inhabits a world where the 70s take centre stage. This album certainly doesn’t disappoint, but you can’t help feeling that a reunion with his former bandmates would produce a killer album”. –

From our Review by Killian Laher here

Albums of Note:

— Arone Dyer (of Buke & Gase) & s t a r g a z e – Arone Dyer & s t a r g a z e

December 1st:

— ABBA – The Visitors (Deluxe Edition)

— Alicia Keys – The Diary of Alicia Keys 20

— Allman Brown – Second Son Part I EP

— Antha Pantha – Feline Season

— Aretha Franklin – A Portrait Of The Queen 1970-1974

— Arone Dyer (of Buke & Gase) & s t a r g a z e – Arone Dyer & s t a r g a z e

— Atmosphere – Talk Talk EP

— AZ – Truth Be Told

— Bad Veins – Imposter

— Beans on Toast – The Toothpaste and the Tube

— Ben Richter – Aurogeny

— Bones Owens – Eighteen Wheeler EP

— Braniac – Smack Bunny Baby (Vinyl Reissue)

— Chick Corea Elektric Band – The Complete Studio Recordings 1986-1991

— Clark – Cave Dog

— Codeseven – Go Let It In

— Collective Soul – 7even Year Itch: Greatest Hits, 1994-2001 (Vinyl Reissue)

— The Corrs – Best of the Corrs (Reissue)

— Czarface – Czartifical Intelligence

— Dillon Francis – This Mixtape Is Fire Too

— DJ Haram – Handplay EP

— Dove Cameron – Alchemical: Volume 1

— Dustin Wong and Ari Liloia – Guided To The Panoramic Merge EP

— Dweller – Dweller EP

— Fat Tony – Smart Ass Black Boy Redux

— Fela Kuti – Box Set #6 (Curated by Idris Elba)

— Frida Kill – Kill! Kill!

— Full of Hell and Nothing – When No Birds Sing

— Gabby’s World – Gabby Sword

— Get Wrong – Get Wrong EP

— The Goa Express – The Goa Express

— Gonzalez Smith – Roll Up a Song

— Haiku Hands – Pleasure Beast

— Harp (feat. Midlake’s Tim Smith) – Albion

— Hiroshi Yoshimura – Surround (Reissue) (Physical Release)

— House of Harm – Playground

— Humour – A Small Crowd Gathered to Watch Me EP

— Johanna Burnheart – Bär

— Jonathan Rado – For Who the Bell Tolls For

— Kate Bush – Hounds of Love (The Baskerville Edition)

— Kate Bush – Hounds of Love (The Boxes of Lost Sea)

— Khruangbin – Khruangbin: Live at Sydney Opera House

— Lea Bertucci – Of Shadows and Substance

— Lil Lotus – Nosebleeder

— Love Minus Zero (Hudson Mohawke and Tiga) – L’Ecstasy

— Lyn Lapid – to love in the 21st century: the epilogue

— Mayday Parade – Monsters in the Closet (Vinyl Reissue)

— Minor Threat – Out of Step Outtakes EP

— Muriel Grossman – Devotion

— Nelly Furtado – Loose (Vinyl Reissue)

— Peter Gabriel – i/o

— P!NK – TRUSTFALL (Deluxe Edition)

— The Rolling Stones – December’s Children (And Everybody’s) (Vinyl Reissue)

— The Rolling Stones – Got Live If You Want It! (Vinyl Reissue)

— The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones No. 2 (Vinyl Reissue)

— Sam Fischer – I Love You, Please Don’t

— Sheryl Crow – Tuesday Night Music Club (Vinyl Reissue)

— Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (Deluxe Edition)

— Steely Dan – Gaucho (Vinyl Reissue)

— Thy Slaughter (A.G. Cook and EASYFUN) – Soft Rock

— Tina Turner – Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll

— Trevor Horn – Echoes: Ancient & Modern

— Various Artists – Moping in Style: A Tribute to Adam Green

— Various Artists – The Sound of Music (Super Deluxe Edition)

— Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (40th Anniversary Edition)

— We Owe – Major Inconvenience

— Wiz Khalifa – Decisions

— Wiz Khalifa – Star Power (Vinyl Reissue)

— Yancey Boys – Sunset Blvd (Vinyl Reissue)